Mac mini

Models for sale were originally released October 2018.

What is it? The Mac mini is Apple’s smallest desktop Mac. It’s a nice combination of speed and affordability. It’s not only fast enough for general-purpose use, but its multi-core speed is quite good—if you use a professional app like a video editor, 3D software, or developer tools, the Mac mini can handle it, no problem.

Who’s it for? Because of its price and performance, the Mac mini is a great Mac for just about anybody. It makes for an ideal primary Mac for a home or small office. Professionals on a budget will be satisfied with the Mac mini. If you’re switching from a PC, you can use your PC’s keyboard and mouse with the Mac mini. The Mac mini is also ideal as a secondary Mac in your home, and it can integrate into your home entertainment center.

What are the specifications? What makes the Mac mini stand out is its small size. It doesn’t take up a lot of desk space.

The Mac mini does not include a display, keyboard, or mouse, so you’ll have to provide your own—or you can customize your order to include these devices as extra-cost options.

Since the Mac mini lacks an optical drive, you need to buy an external USB optical drive if you want to read or burn CDs and DVDs.

How do I connect stuff? Like Apple’s other Macs, the Mac mini has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It also has four Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, and a headphone jack. It also has a gigabit ethernet port, in case you want to connect to a wired network.

To connect a display, you can use the HDMI port or a Thunderbolt 3/USB-C port. You might have to buy an adapter if your display doesn’t have either HDMI or a port that can connect to Thunderbolt 3/USB-C.

How fast is it? The Mac mini is surprisingly fast. In single-core performance (what most general consumers are concerned with, using the web, mail, productivity apps, etc.), it’s about as fast as Apple’s current 21.5-inch iMac lineup, which uses a 2017 processor.

The Mac mini is also impressive when it comes to multi-core performance, which involves using professional-level software. Though the Mac mini isn’t quite as fast as a 21.5-inch iMac, it comes close. And you can’t beat the performance you get for the price.

Macworld’s buying advice: The Mac mini is an excellent machine for most Mac users—new or experienced, professional or general consumer. For you’re on a budget or not, tt’s a great choice.

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iMac

Apple has two versions of the iMac. Let’s go over the standard iMac first, followed by the iMac with Retina display.

What is it? The iMac is Apple’s iconic all-in-one computer. Made of aluminum, the iMac has a built-in display and looks stately as it sits on a desk. It also offers top-notch performance.

Who’s it for? The iMac is great for both novices and demanding users. It can handle general-purpose and heavy-duty tasks equally well. It’s ideal for someone who needs to buy a complete computer setup (keyboard, mouse or trackpad, and display) and wants to maximize workspace efficiency.

What are the specifications? One standard iMac model is currently available with a 21.5-inch 1920x1080-resolution display. It has a 1TB hard drive. (Apple no longer makes a 27-inch iMac with a standard display—more on that later).

You can’t upgrade the 21.5-inch iMac yourself after you buy it, so consider paying an extra $200 at the outset for a memory upgrade to 16GB. If you want to add more RAM later, you need to bring the iMac to an Apple store. The 21.5-inch iMac also offers a Fusion Drive or a flash storage upgrade.

The iMac comes with Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2. If you order online from the Apple Store, however, you can switch the keyboard to a version with a numeric keypad, and switch the mouse to a wired Apple Mouse or a Magic Trackpad 2 ($50). You can opt to get both a Magic Mouse 2 and a Magic Trackpad 2 for $129 extra.

The iMac does not have an optical drive. If you want to read or burn CDs and DVDs, you need to buy an external USB optical drive.

How do I connect stuff? Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built-in. All iMacs have four USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a gigabit ethernet port, and an SDXC card slot.

If you want to connect a FireWire device, you’ll need to use a Thunderbolt-to-FireWire Adapter ($29 on the Apple Store). USB 2.0 devices can connect to the iMac’s USB 3.0 ports.

How fast is it? The iMacs are among Apple’s fastest computers, however, the $1,099 iMac is Apple’s slowest iMac. Also, if the iMac has a hard drive, it’s a performance bottleneck. If you can upgrade to a Fusion Drive or flash storage, you’ll gain a significant performance boost. The $1,099 iMac has an attractive price, but you make huge sacrifices in performance.

Macworld’s buying advice: For new Mac owners, the $1,099 iMac is a good alternative to the Mac mini, providing a nice performance increase. If performance is your top priority, consider a Fusion Drive upgrade. On a 21.5-inch iMac, the 8GB of RAM should be fine, but buying the RAM upgrade at the point of purchase could help you avoid some hassle in the future.

Users can upgrade the RAM on the 27-inch iMac easily. The machine has four RAM slots, accessible through the back. Apple installs the standard 8GB as a pair of 4GB memory modules, so you can add more RAM after you buy the system. Or if you prefer, you can upgrade the RAM at the point of purchase to 16GB ($200) or 32GB ($600).

How do I connect stuff? Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built-in. All Retina iMacs have four USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a gigabit ethernet port, and an SDXC card slot.

If you want to connect a FireWire device, you’ll need to use a Thunderbolt-to-FireWire Adapter ($29 on the Apple Store). USB 2.0 devices can connect to the iMac’s USB 3.0 ports.

How fast is it? The Retina iMacs are among Apple’s fastest computers when it comes to single-core performance. When it comes to multi-core speed, the Mac Pros with more than four cores are faster machines. You can improve the multi-core performance by opting for the 4.2GHz Core i7 upgrade in the $1,999 and $2,299 in the 27-inch models, or the 3.6GHz Core i7 upgrade in the 21.5-inch model—you’ll pay more, but it may be worth it to your for the performance boost.

Macworld’s buying advice: The allure of the Retina display is strong; you’ll love the way it looks. You may not love the way the price looks, however. If you are hesitant about the price, it won’t take long to get over it, once you’ve used the Retina iMac for a couple of weeks.

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iMac Pro

What is it? The iMac Pro is an all-in-one computer like the iMac, but it contains workstation-class components for handling heavy-duty, complex computations.

Who’s it for? This is the computer for people who with the most demanding tasks. It’s targeted at creative professionals, scientists, and software developers.

What are the specifications? The iMac Pro uses workstation-class Intel Xeon W processors. The processors are available with 8, 10, 14, or 18 cores.

The iMac Pro will come standard with 32GB of 2666MHz DDR4 ECC memory. You can configure it to 64GB or 128GB. The RAM is not user upgradeable, though; if you want to add more RAM later, you need to bring the iMac Pro to a service provider.

The storage device is a 1TB SSD, with options for 2TB or 4TB. The graphics card is a Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics processor with 8GB of HBM2 memory, with upgrades available.

Apple

iMac Pro

Pricing starts at $4,999 for the 8-core model with 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and 8GB Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics.

The iMac Pro comes in an aluminum space gray case. It also has matching space gray Magic Keyboard with a numeric keypad and Magic Mouse 2.

How do I connect stuff? Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are included for wireless connectivity. The back of the iMac Pro has four USB 3 ports, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, a 10-gigabit ethernet jack, and an SDXC card slot.

How fast is it? The machine is a multi-processing beast, designed to work with pro-level apps that demand multiple processing cores. Apple has issued different configurations of the iMac Pro to select users, including mechanical and aerospace engineer Craig A. Hunter, director and photographer Vincent Laforet, and YouTubers Marques Brownlee and Jonathan Morrison, and all of them say the speed is very impressive.

In our review of the iMac Pro, we confirmed that the new Mac is at its best with software that can take advantage of processors with multiple cores. And the iMac Pro’s graphics performance is spectacular, thanks to the Radeon Pro Vega

If you use software that’s geared for single-core performance (which includes many general consumar apps), you won’t see a marked increase. In fact, we found that the iMac Pro is similar in single-core performance to a 2014 Core i7 5K iMac. You’re better off with a new 5K iMac in this case.

Macworld’s buying advice: This is the fastest available Mac in Apple’s lineup, if you use multi-core software. There doesn’t seem to be a new Mac Pro coming in the near future, despite what Apple said about it. So if you’d rather wait for a new Mac Pro, you might be waiting for a while.

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Mac Pro

Models for sale were originally released December 2013.

What is it? The Mac Pro is Apple’s workstation. It’s designed for professionals who need a powerful and flexible machine.

Who’s it for? The Mac Pro is ideal for professionals who work with applications that use as many processing cores as possible—video-editing applications, image-editing software, 3D programs, and the like.

The Mac Pro offers buyers some appealing build-to-order options. You can add up to 64GB of memory, upgrade to 512GB or 1TB of flash storage, upgrade the graphics, or upgrade the processor (to a 12-core CPU).

The Mac Pro (2013).

How do I connect stuff? Unlike the previous Mac Pro, the new Mac Pro has no internal options for connecting PCI expansion cards or internal storage drives. The new Mac Pro relies on its six external Thunderbolt 2 ports for add-ons. If you have an old Mac Pro tower and PCI cards and/or drives that you want to use, you’ll need to buy a Thunderbolt expansion chassis for the cards and external cases for the drives.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth come built-in on the new Mac Pro. The machine has four USB 3 ports, dual gigabit ethernet jacks, and HDMI. Audio professionals should know that the Mac Pro has a combined optical digital audio input and analog output minijack. The computer doesn’t have FireWire connections.

How fast is it? Apple says that the new Mac Pro is a “video editing powerhouse” capable of handling 4K video editing, that 3D applications will see “ultrafast rendering,” and on and on. And our first set of tests reflects that. If you use Final Cut Pro X, you’ll see huge performance gains. If you use applications that can take advantage of as many processing cores as are available, then the Mac Pro really shines.

However, if you’re more of a “prosumer” than a professional—someone who is an expert Mac user, but doesn’t use high-end apps—then you’re not going to see a big jump in performance. You’re probably better off with an iMac, especially if you use the iLife apps a lot. iLife actually performs better with the processors in the iMac than those in the Mac Pro.

Apple admitted that the Mac Pro’s design severely limits what the company can do with the machine in terms of upgrades, and that, as Apple VP Phil Schiller puts it, they are “completely rethinking” the Mac Pro.

The next Mac Pro, which Apple says will be released in 2019, will be better able to support the latest CPU and GPU technologies, according to Apple. But you’ll have to wait until next year for the new, redesigned Mac Pro to make its appearance.

In the meantime, should you buy the Mac Pro that’s currently available? If you are doing professional work and require extreme multi-processing capability, and you’re using an old pre-2013 Mac Pro or an older iMac, you’ll definitely see a performance boost with the current Mac Pro.

But if you already have the 2013 Mac Pro, there’s no reason to buy what Apple is selling now, unless you are making a significant jump in the number of processing cores (say, from a four-core to a 12-core CPU). Try to hold out for the first half of next year to see if Apple makes an announcement.